1970 Chevy C10 - Habanero

If there's one thing that can be said about customizing a classic truck, it's that each person has their own idea of which one makes for the best material to start with.

For Terry Roberson of Forney, Texas, without a doubt it's a '67-87 C-10 Chevrolet. Terry told us that he's had his share of '60-66 C-10s and liked them OK, but he always had problems with the doors. As far as the '73-87 C-10s go, Terry said that they're not too bad either, but there is just something about a '67-72 C-10 that he really likes. All in all, Terry figures he has had more than 25 C-10s at this point in his life.

The story of Terry's '70 C-10 goes back a few years when he purchased the truck from longtime friend Scott Thomas. Scott had been working on the truck on and off for a while and had it a little past half-done when Terry persuaded him to part with the truck. As a well-known hot rod builder and the owner of Platinum Collision in Terrell, Texas, Scott already had the '70 in Torch Red BASF paint when Terry took possession, but the interior was still gutted, and it needed to be finished off in general.

After dealing with a shop that Terry had already worked with on another project, he felt it was the best experience to date that he'd ever had with a build, so a call to Richard Stokes and the guys at Stoked Out Specialties in Rockwall, Texas, got the ball rolling.

The crew at Stoked Out wasted no time heating up the C-10. It already had a good start by the time they got it into their shop. The 502-inch big-block Chevy Scott had built was sitting in the engine bay, and the suspension had been lowered with the addition of the Air Ride Technologies Ride-Rite kit. What the truck needed was a little more detailing along with the addition of Terry's personal take on how things should be. Starting under the hood, the 502 was hopped up a little further with a 555 lift cam, Hooker headers feeding into four-chamber Flowmasters with the option of electric cutouts, and a hot MSD ignition from the guys in El Paso. The transmission behind the 502 is a beefed Turbo 350 built by Jay at Trans-Pro in Terrell, Texas, with a TCI Streetfighter torque converter thrown in for good measure.

The big-block motor sounded like it belonged in a dragster, and that proved to be all the inspiration needed to throw on a set of 20x8 1/2-inch custom-ordered Budnik wheels in the front with huge 20x15s in the rear. For the dub's skins, a set of 255/40-20 Toyos were mounted to the front, and a pair of Toyo 31x18.50-20s were mounted on the rear.

With the motor and running gear in place, the team at Stoked Out began working on the truck's fit and finish. With custom touches like shaved mirrors, door handles, and a custom cowl hood already in place, the body was shaping up. The '70 already had a great paint job when the Stoked Out crew got started, and with a lot of color-sanding, polishing, and waxing, they were able to transform a great paint job into a breathtaking one.

The final piece of the puzzle was the interior. Terry wanted something neat and ultra clean. The guys at Stoked Out knew just the man for the interior job, Andy Martin of Canton, Texas. Andy is well known around the hot rod scene for his stitching abilities, and he didn't let the guys at Stoked Out down. Looking to add a contrasting color to the Torch Red exterior, Andy chose Adobe Ultra Leather for the upholstery, with copious amounts of camel caramel plush carpet to complement the slick interior featuring an ISS bench seat. With the interior chores almost complete, Andy moved onward with electric lifts for all the glass, including the rear window and controls for the air ride system. To complete the dashboard, Auto Meter gauges were added, along with controls for the '70s Vintage Air air conditioning.

With the build wrapping up and the show season rapidly approaching, Terry was asked to come up with a name for his truck. He already had a moniker in mind and immediately told the guys at Stoked Out that they had just finished building Habanero.